Think Christianly is the book this nafme series is based off of.

Large survey of teens show that teens typically believe-

 that a God exists who created and orders the world

 the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself
 God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is need to resolve a
problem
 Good people go to heaven when they die
 Teens experience isolation from adult relationships so desperately need (Why? Technology
creates a distance between adults and children. Broken homes)
 Teens have not been grounded in a robust Christian world view and taught how to think and
arrive at truth
 32% of teens who walked away from God did so because of intellectual skepticism

Only 9% of all American adults have a Biblical worldview

Only 19% of professing “born again” Christians hold to a Biblical worldview

“At Home Challenges

 loss of the fear of God within families (loss of accountability to God)

 reality of living in a culture that is redefining marriage, family and life. (embracing cultural
norms, not Biblical standards)
 Culture of divorce
 40% of babies born in the US are by unwed mothers

Believe the Bible

 Is it outdated? Absolutely not
 It is an accurate historical book. Backed by credible, scholarly research.
 Take everything literally? Not everything context matters greatly.
 Jesus used a lot of hyperbole in his teaching. (“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his
father or mother, his children, wife, and self, such a person cannot be my disciple” Luke 14:26)
This is an extreme that is not meant to be taken literally.
 Is the Bible outdated with culturally sensitive things? (especially old testament law.) Once again
context is key.
o What did the text mean to the Biblical audience?
o What are the differences between the B.A and us?
o What is the theological principle in the text?
o Does the New Testament modify or qualify this principle?
o How should we apply this principle to our lives?
 Example
  Leviticus 19:19- Do not wear clothes that are made out of two kinds of cloth
 This was a prohibition that was designed to forbid the Israelites from engaging
in fertility cult practices of Canaanites. They believed in “sympathetic magic” the
idea that symbolic actions can influence the gods and nature. Combining two
kinds of cloth ensured fertility by “marrying” the materials that would produce
offspring.
 The intention of the law was to keep the Israelites from being led into the
Canaanite religion.
 How can we apply this today? Do not let out “cultural magic” steer us away
from living for God and what He wants in our lives.

 The Bible records many things that it does not endorse, although it describes the situation
accurately
 Take the practice of polygamy- The Bible records this practice but always highlights the painful
consequences of this practice. God’s intent is one man and one woman in marriage for a lifetime
(Genesis 2:4)

What does the have to do with teaching

 Homosexuality and gender

 Racial injustice
 Religious Freedom (Your beliefs, beliefs of others)
 Science (Evolution, the environment)
 political Views

Things that we can do as Christians

 Understand- understand the times so that we know what we should do (This is always changing)
How do we do this?
o Go to Church
o Read your Bible
o Pray
 Engage- learning how to speak with compassion and be an informed voice to our culture.
 Love0 1st John 4:7 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone
who loves has been born of God and knows God.